Devotionals

The Bible is clear that all those with true faith will persevere until the end. No one can snatch us from Christ’s hand (John 10:27–28). However, our perseverance is not accomplished outside of our own efforts. Though faith is a ...Read More

Lest we think that Christ bore His pain with ease, let us remember that even Jesus asked for the cup of suffering to pass from Him (Luke 22:39–42). Yet He did this in faith, submitting to the Father’s will when ...Read More

When we come to the issue of suffering, we can see how God’s sovereignty is a comfort to us. Because He is in full control of all events past, present, and future, we know that ultimately there can be no ...Read More

Today’s passage, which also says that the righteous are scarcely saved, does not warn us that salvation can be lost. Rather, as John Calvin says, it tells us that no one enters the kingdom without experiencing hardship. Even in our ...Read More

The history of God’s people indicates that judgment always begins within the covenant community. For example, the Israelites were sent into exile before the wicked Babylonian empire was judged. Today’s passage expressly states that judgment begins with the house of ...Read More

John Calvin writes, “it is no common kindness from God, that he calls us, freed and exempted from the common punishment of our sins, to so honourable a warfare as to undergo for the testimony of his Gospel either exiles, ...Read More

How apt are you to play the part of the righteous victim? Do you become indignant when you experience hardship even though you might deserve it for meddling in someone else’s affairs? Though we are called to rescue others from ...Read More

Peter reminds us today that if we suffer for bearing the name of Christ we are blessed. Just as the Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus, so too does He rest upon us, and our suffering proves that we indeed have ...Read More

Though our sin may bring suffering, the suffering Peter has in mind here is the suffering we endure from the hands of ungodly men because of our profession of Christ. When we stand for Jesus in our schools, homes, or ...Read More

Peter does not give us an exhaustive list of gifts here; he gives two broad examples that encompass many of the specific ones listed elsewhere in the New Testament. What are your spiritual gifts? Do you have particular talents that ...Read More